State Funds Approved for New Distillery in Kadoka

KADOKA, S.D. (AP) — Nearly a century after federal agents searched for secret stills operated by moonshiners in the Badlands of western South Dakota, the state is ready to help a new distillery open in the area.

The state's Value Added Finance Authority has approved a $178,000 loan to Badlands Distillery in Kadoka. The Rapid City Journal reports the plant will use locally grown grains, and its specialty will be flavored moonshines.

The facility received its federal license in December. Its state license went into effect Friday.

Mark Eschenbacher co-owns the distillery. He says the distillery's goal is to produce over 9,600 bottles during the first year.

Eschenbacher says co-owner James Herber traces his lineage to a group of brothers who operated illegal stills during the Prohibition years near present-day Badlands National Park.

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